According to the World Health Organization, obesity rates in the general population are rapidly becoming a global concern. For example, in 2008, 1.5 billion adults were overweight (BMI>25 kg/m2). Of these, over 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese (BMI>30 kg/m2), while nearly 40 million children under the age of five were overweight in 2010. Further, globally obesity rates have more than doubled since 1980 from 5% to 10% in men and 8% to 14% in women. As a result, at least 2.8 million people die each year globally, as a result of being overweight or obese.
Being overweight or obese greatly increases the risk for developing a cluster of metabolic disorders, such as high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and hyperlipidemia, which, together with a few other pathophysiological abnormalities, are collectively referred to as metabolic syndrome Metabolic syndrome is a serious medical condition because it greatly increases the risks for developing devastating diseases such as T2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke, atherosclerosis, fatty liver disease, and aging-related degenerative diseases.
Existing methods to control obesity, such as diets, have failed remarkably at achieving and at sustaining a proper BMI for most individuals, not to mention the continued long-term struggle endured by participants. Food craving appears to be an important construct to consider, particularly within the current food environment. Approaches that might effectively target food cravings hold significant implications for advancing public health and clinical concerns relating to overeating but have not yet come to fruition.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above, and particularly for a more efficient way of controlling obesity.